Al Sadd’s Xavier Hernandez (centre) and Salem Ali Al-Hajri (left) react as Persepolis’ Ali Alipour falls to the ground during the AFC Champions League match at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran on Monday.
Doha: Former AFC Champions League winners Al Sadd - who made it to the AFC Champions League pre-quarter-final stage - are happy with their performance in the AFC Champions league even after clinching the runner-up spot in their group.
Al Sadd Portuguese coach Jesualdo Ferreira expressed his satisfaction with his team’s performance despite a 1-0 defeat to Persepolis in their last group match.
The result meant that Al Sadd lost out on the top spot in Group C, but Ferreira was adamant that his players had performed according to the expectaions.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, he said: “We don’t deserve this defeat; we were the better side. My players put up an entertaining show playing away from home against a strong team. Despite conceding an early goal, the Al Sadd players came back strongly and threatened their (Persepolis) goal on many occasions. We just weren’t lucky.”
Al Sadd finished with 12 points from six matches in the four-team group, played on a home and away basis. Group leaders Persepolis had one extra point in the kitty, while FC Nasaf of Uzbekistan finished third with ten points and Al Wasl FC of UAE failed to open their account.
He added: “It was an entertaining match. Al Sadd were better. Anyway, it doesn’t matter if we are first or second in the group. I congratulate both teams for making it to the next round. And I am fully satisfied with what my players performance in the match.”
As for his view on the refereeing, Ferreira said: “There was an unfair booking for Pedro, which will rule him out of the Round of 16 first leg match. If the referee had shown a red card to Persepolis captain Seyed Jalal, things would have been very different in the last half an hour of the match. However, this is how football is. All that matters to me is the good performance of my players in the game.”
“I am happy with the players’ performance. I hope fortune will favour us in the upcoming matches at home and in Asia,” added the Portuguese.
